Songs to Star of the County Down?

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 07:34 PM

Actually almost any song in "common meter double" or in common or ballad meter with verses that can be combined (such as "Amazing Grace") could be sung to this tune. If you're willing to merge notes a little you can songs in 76.76.D meter, such as "The yellow rose of Texas" and "The Church's One Foundation."

T.

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Jonathan
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 07:23 PM

Such a wealth of them! Didn't know that about Ulster ... :-) ... ought to have no trouble finding some words my group likes, then -- if I can decide which of all those nice-looking recordings to buy!

I hadn't really had hymns in mind, but in fact we sometimes do Unitarian church services and they might come in rather handy. Maybe we could even work up an "all-star" program: do a whole evening of the songs on this thread ...

Thanks, all, Jonathan

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 07:22 PM

Bruce O., was a version of "Gilderoy" published in D'Urfey's Pills to Purge Melancholy" (1719) as well?

Another set of words to this tune is "Come all ye faithful Christians." See Journal of the Folk Song Society #7(1905), page 115ff.

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Martin _Ryan
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 06:06 PM

Den

It wasn't the songs he was getting at - just the lack of tunes! Seriously, though: the Ulster singing tradition is wonderful - great songs and great characters to sing them. I was at the festival in Forkhill recently and enjoyed it thoroughly.

Regards

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Den
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 02:39 PM

Did anyone guess what the missing WORD was in the second last line? Den

Subject: Lyr Add: THERE'S SURE TO BE A ROW^^
From: Den
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 02:34 PM

Here's the words to "There's sure to be a row" if anyone would like them.

There's Sure To Be A Row

I'm a poor unhappy married man
I have an awful wife
Though I do everything for her
Still she plagues my life
Though I do everything that's right
She'll find some fault somehow
And If I stay out late at night
There's sure to be a row

Chorus
There's sure to be a row
There's sure to be a row
Do all in your life for to please your wife
Or there's sure to be a row

She wakes me in the morning
In such a cruel way
She kicks me out upon the floor
Not a cross word dare I say
I have to wash my socks and fronts,
My shirts also I vow
That if I don't wash hers aswell
There's sure to be a row

Chorus

I hand her up my wages
After working all the week
I hand her up my wages
And still she has the cheek
To hand me twopence for myself
And that I have to vow
That if I spend it all at once
There's sure to be a row

Chorus

She's taken in a lodger
And he's single by and by
She says we must make room for him
So I on the sofa lie
They eat the meat give me the bones
Now that don't seem right somehow
And if I dare to say one
Then there's sure to be a row

Chorus (2x)
Den^^

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Mel
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 02:14 PM

The Manchester Lads was recorded ages ago by Mike Harding using this tune, though played a bit slower than usual.

'twas on a monday morning as I have heard them say, our orders they came from Manchester we were to march away, leaving many a pretty fair maid to cry what shall we do, the Manchester lads have gone abroad, whatever shall we do.

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: T in Oklahoma (Okiemockbird)
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 02:04 PM

Other hymn-lyrics I have heard sung to this tune (which is also known as "Kingsfold"): "O Jesus crowned with all renown" and "When Jesus left his father's throne."

T.

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Philippa
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 12:53 PM

Men/People of No Property song circa 1970 about Toome eel fisheries, Lough Neagh

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: lamarca
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 11:58 AM

I sing a version of "The Unquiet Grave" set to the tune in 2/4; it's in the Hammond-Gardiner collection of English folksongs. Also, if you squint sideways at it, "Rollin' Down to Old Maui" is a variation as well.

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Den
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 09:30 AM

There is also, "Theres sure to be a row." Its a fairly funny song to the tune of The Star of the County Down.

Martin I think who ever it was that half joked that we may be lacking in traditional songs should get north of the border a little more often. I guess he never heard of Sarah Makem. Den

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: alison
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 08:43 AM

Another beautiful hymn

I heard the voice of Jesus say

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: alison
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 08:14 AM

If you're into Christmas Carols...

Oh sing a song of Bethlehem

slainte

alison

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Martin Ryan
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 04:51 AM

Johnathan

Waterson/Carthy recorded (on the CD Commonm Tongue) a version of Claudy Banks to what is basically a 6/8 version of the Star of the etc. Another version is used for Lily of the West etc etc.

I seem to remember someone remarking, only half-jokingly, that "There are only four tunes in the whole of the Ulster Song Tradition - and three of them are versions of the Star of the COunty Down"!

Regards

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: John in Brisbane
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 03:53 AM

Great to see you back Bruce as a real person. May we continue to deserve your attention. Refards, John

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Lance
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 12:45 AM

Try the hymn "The King of Love My Shepherd Is"

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Bruce O.
Date: 15 Oct 99 - 12:08 AM

There is an old thread on this. The oldest copy of the tune is "Gilderoy" in Alex. Stuart's 'Musick for Allan Ramsay's Collection of Scots Songs [Tea Table Miscellany]', c 1726, and there's an ABC of it as B159 in the broadside ballad tunes on my website. It's over a 150 earlier the "The Star of the County Down". Several other names for it are in a group at the end of the Irish tune index on my website, and more songs using the tune are given under "Lazarus" in Bronson's 'The Traditional Tunes of the Child Ballads'. The recent 'Sources of Irish Traditional Music', 1998 has no copies other than Scots ones of "Gilderoy" and that in Shield's opera 'Marian', through their cut-off date of 1855. It seems to be first found elsewhere as "We are poor frozen out gardeners" in Wm. Chappell's 'Popular Music of the Olden Time' as a song and tune Chappell heard about 1818. www.erols.com/olsonw

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 14 Oct 99 - 10:42 PM

Great minds t..... & their fast too. Barry

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Barry Finn
Date: 14 Oct 99 - 10:34 PM

Crooked Jack by either Brendan or Dominic Behan. I'm pretty sure this is all in an old thread but I don't know where that thread is now. Barry

Subject: RE: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: alison
Date: 14 Oct 99 - 10:30 PM

Here's a few

crooked Jack, (in the database)

the land where the shamrocks grow, (in an old thread)

slainte

alison

Subject: Songs to Star of the County Down?
From: Jonathan
Date: 14 Oct 99 - 10:15 PM

Hi, I'm only an occasional reader of this forum, but it seemed like the best place to ask this question -- what songs do folks know (preferably trad) that use the same tune as Star of the County Down? This came up in another context on a mailing list, and people mentioned Dives & Lazarus, the Murder of Maria Martin, and Claudy Banks. I actually found all these in the database, but Claudy Banks seemed to have a different tune. Is anyone familiar with this song being sung to S of the C D? And for all of them, do they use the 2/4 or 3/4 version of the tune?

Some friends and I have performed the tune (in 3/4) instrumentally and would like to sing it, but don't really like the Star of the County Down words all that much...

Thanks, Jonathan